The Tale of Eugene Fitzherbert Senior
by Eternal-Supernerd
Summary: Eugene doesn't do back story. At least, until one night when it haunts his dreams. With only a few months until his own child comes along, he feels the need to tell Rapunzel the story of his parents, and how they died. And maybe reveal another part of his name that he has been hiding as well. Based off a short animation reel clip where Eugene talks about his father.


**A little one-shot I felt that I needed to write after I found the new Tangled animation test where Eugene talks about his father. If you have yet to see it, go to my profile and follow it to my tumblr. The video link will be on there!**

**Enjoy, and please review if you want!**

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"Daddy! No!" Eugene shouted, bolting upright in bed. His face was pale, he was drenched in sweat, his breathing was ragged, and his heart was racing. He had had another nightmare.

Now, ever since Eugene had died and then come back to life, he had been having more nightmares than he used to. When he was little, he would have nightmares all the time, but when he became Flynn Rider, the were few and far between. But dying brought the nightmares back. His nightmares now consisted of him dying, or worse, Rapunzel dying.

He sat there in bed, still shaken from his dream, when he felt a soft hand rest on his shoulder. Turning he saw Rapunzel looking at him with worried eyes and a sad smile.

"Are you okay, Eugene? Did you have another nightmare?" she asked softly, moving her hand from his shoulder to his hair, brushing his bangs from his face.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It was just... a nightmare I haven't had... in a very long time," he said quietly, slowly lowering himself down so he was lying on his back again.

Turning his head so he was looking at Rapunzel, who was still sitting up, he smiled at her and reached his hand over, placing it on her large belly. He smiled when he felt a soft kick against his hand, and Rapunzel giggled quietly before she looked back at Eugene. The two of them had just celebrated their one year anniversary a week ago, and Rapunzel was currently seven months pregnant with their first child.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she whispered, leaning over him so she could look directly into his eyes.

Sighing, he reached a hand up and placed it on the back of her neck sweetly, pulling her head down so he could kiss her lips. The kiss was soft, but filled with passion, and it made Rapunzel sigh happily, deepening the kiss.

"Let's talk about in the morning," Eugene said as he pulled away, staring into his wife's bright green eyes, "Right now, I just need to be close to you."

Smiling and nodding, Rapunzel lay back down and turned onto her side, facing away from Eugene. Grabbing his arm, she pulled it so he was spooning her, and she gingerly placed his hand on her belly so he could feel close to their baby as well. The two of them sighed in sync as they closed their eyes, snuggling closely together as they fell back asleep, and just before Eugene lost consciousness, he heard Rapunzel whisper "Sweet dreams, my love."

When Eugene awoke again in the morning, he found that he and Rapunzel were still snuggled close together and spooning, and that made him smile. Gently caressing her belly, he leaned in and kissed her neck softly, causing her to awaken and begin to giggle happily. Turning around in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his middle and leaned in for her morning kiss, which she expected the minute she woke up, no matter how bad either of their breath smelled. Of course, Eugene gladly received Rapunzel's plump pink lips, and the two of them kissed passionately.

"Good morning, Rapunzel," he whispered slightly breathlessly as he pulled away from her lips, staring at her face with a smile gracing his lips.

"Good morning, Eugene," she whispered back, a bright smile on his lips, instantly preparing Eugene for any troubles he may encounter that day.

After a while of just resting in bed, the two got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs hand in hand to the dining hall for breakfast. During breakfast, the King and Queen told them about their schedules for that day, as well as when everything would be, as they did every morning. Once the two young royals had finished their breakfast, they parted ways for a bit, as they both had important matters to attend to. But, they had made plans to meet up after lunch in one of the many parlors so Eugene could tell Rapunzel about his dream.

Once they had both finished lunch, they walked to the parlor together, with Eugene carrying a tray with cookies and tea. Rapunzel opened the door to let him into the parlor, and then closed it behind him and locked it, knowing that they would probably need privacy. They sat in wing-back chairs that they had positioned to face each other, with a small table for the tray just off to the side. After they had sat down and settled in, they sipped their tea and munched on cookies for awhile before Eugene began to speak;

"Remember when we were trapped in that cave, and I told you my real name?" he began looking down into his tea with an anxious grimace on his face.

"Of course I do. I remember every moment we've spent together!" Rapunzel said with a grin, but it fell slightly when she saw the anxious look on her husband's face.

"Well… I kind of lied. I mean, that _is _my name, but… it isn't my full name. My real full name… is Eugene Fitzherbert… Junior."

"Junior?"

"Junior," Eugene deadpanned, refusing to meet Rapunzel's eyes.

They sat in silence for awhile, both of them contemplating this in their heads, when Rapunzel gently spoke up.

"Thank you for telling me, Eugene. But… what does this have to do with your nightmare?"

Eugene closed his eyes, his brow furrowing, and he set his teacup back down on the tray before he raked a hand through his hair, sighing. Rapunzel hated seeing her husband so troubled, and so she gently moved out of her chair, slid on the floor, and scooted over so her head was resting in his lap. Looking down at her with a small smile, he began to tell her about his nightmare.

"My father… was Eugene Sr. He was from London, England, and was born into a well known family there. He was a sailor, and had moved to Athens, Greece when he was eighteen. One day when he was docked at a port in Catania, Italy, he met my mother, Nicoletta Salvai. She was the daughter of a pub owner, and she worked there, so when my father and the rest of the crew stopped in, they were served by her. The moment my father saw her, he knew he was in love.

Most of the other guys thought he just wanted some passionate but meaningless night with her, but he knew the she was the woman he wanted to marry. He introduced himself to her, and they took it very slow for awhile, mostly because he was away a lot, but he always tried to get on ships that would dock in Catania. Finally, after a year, he asked her father if he could marry her, and he agreed.

So, they went back to Athens, got married, bought a house, and a few years later, I came along. But… when my mother gave birth to me, she became very sick, and she died the next day. She only ever held me once, and because she became sick so quickly, she didn't get to name me. Actually, I wasn't named until a month after my birth, when my father realized I had yet to be named. Funnily enough, I was named after him because he and my mother had never discussed baby names, so he just named me after him."

When Eugene had said that his mother had died just after childbirth, Rapunzel had begun to cry, but her tears were dashed away when she heard the story of Eugene's naming, and he chuckled along with her.

"So, after my mother died, he hired a wet nurse to feed me, and then take care of me while he was away at sea. When my dad returned home from trips, he'd tell me all about his trips, and about how much he loved the Mediterranean Sea. He'd say 'Ah, Junior. The cool blue waters of the Mediterranean. Nothin' better than that,' and I would always smile.

When I turned three, we became pretty low on money, so he let the nurse go, sold the house, and took me to work with him. He was working so much that we just lived on different boats, all our belongings packed into two suitcases. I was pretty fun as a kid, so all the other sailors liked me, and I have one vivid memory of this one captain with a long ginger beard letting me steer the boat with him. But anyways… enough back story. I should tell you about my nightmare," he said, looking down at Rapunzel to make sure she was still paying attention.

Grasping his large hand in her small one, Rapunzel squeezed it reassuringly, urging him to go on, but also telling him that everything was okay.

"... When I was five, we were out at sea in the Atlantic Ocean. We had just come out of the Alboran Sea, and were headed towards Porto, Portugal, when we were attacked. By pirates.

It was the middle of the night, and the sailor in the crow's nest was fast asleep instead of on lookout, and we didn't even know we were being attacked until the first cannonball struck the ship, taking off the head of one of the men as he slept. I woke up when I heard the boom, and I watched as everyone leaped into action, grabbing cutlasses and loading our cannons. I stayed down below, crouched in a corner, until my father came up, exhausted and covered in blood. He picked me up and we rushed back up to the main deck, where we were giving it our all against those brutes, and losing. My dad fought his way through pirate after pirate until he dropped me into a dingy and cut the ropes, sending the boat onto the water quickly.

As he was checking to make sure I was okay, he called out for me to row as quick as I could, but his cries were stopped as… as I watched the captain of the pirate ship look me dead in the eye, and run his cutlass through my father's heart. After he stabbed him, my father fell into the ocean, and that was the last I ever saw of him. I, of course, didn't want my father's death to be in vain, so I began rowing in the direction of what I believed would be the shore. With tears in my eyes, I watched as the ship was blown up and sank to the bottom of the sea, while the pirate ship sailed away from it, and me. I was the only survivor."

At this point, Eugene had slid down to the floor with Rapunzel, who sat in his lap and hugged him close, and he had tears slowly spilling from his eyes, as well as she did. How could something so awful happen to someone at such a young age, Rapunzel wondered as she held her husband close, soothing him.

"So that was what your nightmare was about?" she whispered, placing a hand on his cheek to brush away his tears.

"Mmm hmm… It was just shocking to me, because I haven't had that dream since I was… maybe ten?" he said in response, turning his head gently and kissing Rapunzel's palm.

"So," she began, "what happened afterwards?"

"Well, I was stuck on that boat for three days. I had no food, no water, and I had rowed in the wrong direction, so I was also in the middle of the ocean. But, on the third day, just as I was passing out, I saw a boat in the distance. I grabbed my oar and began to wave it violently, and thankfully, one of the men saw me, and they came my way. When they picked me up, they told me they were headed to France, and after I told them that I was now an orphan, they decided to find someone who was willing to take me.

One of the man, an older man, was from Germany, so once we got to France, he took me on another boat back to his hometown. Sadly, he caught a fever at sea, and died on the way to the German mainland, so when they docked here in Corona, they just dropped me off, and I found the orphanage myself. And then you know the rest. I discovered Flynnigan Rider, left the orphanage at eighteen, became the most handsome thief in the world, and then stole the heart of the Princess of Corona."

This made Rapunzel giggled, and she leaned in kiss his lips sweetly, a smirk on her soft lips. When she pulled away from the kiss, she laughed when she saw Eugene giving her one of his signature 'Flynn Rider' grins.

"So… Do you remember what your parents looked like?" Rapunzel asked, gently picking at the dark blue vest Eugene was wearing.

"Yeah. I look almost exactly like my dad, except he had black hair and his skin was a bit lighter than mine. I have my mom's hair color, and my skin color is more like hers."

"Oh! So your father was super handsome, is what you're saying. I bet he was a real lady charmer before he married your mother, just like you were before you married me!"

Eugene bursts into laughter, loving that Rapunzel can now joke about his old life and what a sex-crazy guy he used to be. Hugging her close, he leaned his forehead against hers, both of them laughing quietly and looking at each other with mirth in their eyes.

"Yes, he probably was. Who knows, maybe I have some half siblings!" he added with a chuckle, leaning his head back on the seat of the chair he sat against.

"Maybe! But… our baby won't have any half siblings, right?" Rapunzel asked, still slightly worried that maybe someday, a woman would come along with a child that she believed was Eugene's.

"No. At least, I don't think so. I was always pretty careful. I promise," he said, staring into Rapunzel's eyes, his amber eyes truthful.

"Good. I don't want little Eugene Fitzherbert III to have a surprise sibling," Rapunzel said, looking down at her belly.

"No," Eugene said quickly, "No no no. We are _not _naming are son, if we even have a son, Eugene Fitzherbert III. First of all, that is just awful, and secondly, I want our baby's name to be unique from ours. No 'junior's or 'the third's."

"Okay, okay! I was just kidding!" Rapunzel stated, throwing her hands up in defense.

Lying her head on his shoulder, the two sat in silence again for awhile, before there was a knock at the door, making them pull apart. Standing up, Eugene walked over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it, revealing one of the servants of the castle.

"Good afternoon, Sir Eugene. The King has asked me to come get her majesty, the Princess Rapunzel. She is needed in his study for a meeting," the servant stated stiffly, standing straight.

"Oh yes, of course," Eugene said, and he turned to see Rapunzel, who was struggling to get up off the floor.

Walking over to her, Eugene helped her up, kissed her sweetly, and then stood in the room watching her leave. Once Rapunzel was gone, he picked up their dishes and took them back down to the kitchen. As he walked back to their bedroom to take a nap before dinner, he realized how free he felt after getting his back story off his chest.

And as he slept during his nap, he only had good dreams, about how even more wonderful his life would become when he and Rapunzel's child came into the world.


End file.
